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Headlines FEBRU AR Y NEWS NEWS BY T ES V WasteWater IrrIgatIon ineyards around Healdsburg in northern Sonoma County will soon Court Decision Imperils Consumer-Direct Sales P hiladelphia, Pa.—A recent court de- cision regarding New Jersey wine laws could potentially threaten the rights of wineries to have satellite tasting rooms and self distribute their wines— or it could allow out-of-state wineries to have those privi- leges. The case seemingly rose from the dead and slipped unnoticed through the sys- tem. It originated as a standard di- rect-to-consumer suit some seven years ago, be- fore the Supreme Court's Granholm v. Heald decision changed the play- ing field, and be- fore New Jersey changed its laws to pro- hibit any direct shipping. Ordinarily, defendants can offer evidence Greene says WineAmerica strongly dis- agrees with the shortsightedness of the ruling. "It was a terrible decision by the local court, and then the Third Circuit Court compounded the error. By utterly ignoring the role local winery privileges play in preserving local agriculture and rural land- scapes, the Third Circuit threatens to undermine the agritourism expe- rience consumers nationwide have come to expect from their local wineries." He says, by con- new Jersey winery privileges could potentially be compromised by the freeman v. corzine decision. trast, "The prac- tical and multi- layered approach before the court, but in this case neither wineries nor the state presented any. Cary Greene, chief operating officer and general counsel of WineAmerica, the na- tional lobbying organization for wineries, reports that on Dec. 17, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision, Free- man v. Corzine, essentially finding that any local winery privileges deviating from the three-tier system (i.e., direct-to-consumer sales) must be extended equally to in-state and out-of-state producers. It applies spe- cifically to New Jersey, although the results could spread to other jurisdictions. Greene says the sudden resurrection of this old case is a warning to wineries and states to think through and prepare de- fenses for existing laws. "It's time to pay attention," he says. 18 Wines & Vines FeBRUARY 201 1 taken by the Fifth Circuit in Wine Country Gift Baskets.com v. Steen is the template local wineries should be using to defend these vital privileges." That ruling implies that local winery privileges such as tast- ing rooms are presumptively valid, even though they are not extended to out-of- state wineries. Greene claims that these rights princi- pally derive from geography and licensing, not intent to discriminate. "They are also 'inherent' to a local win- ery's agricultural and three-tier function, as evidenced by the fact that nearly ev- ery state that has a three-tier system also grants these privileges exclusively to local wineries," he said. (For more information about Freeman v. Corzine, see Cary M. Greene's Viewpoint column on page 82.) —Paul Franson winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keywords "consumer direct." be irrigated with recycled water, the lat- est such project to put wastewater to practical use. Vineyards in other parts of Sonoma and Napa counties also receive recycled water, and plans are under way to expand that us- age significantly. With continuing water shortages expected in much of California, recycled water is likely to become more popular for vineyards in the future. winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keyword "wastewater." PacIfIc rIm WInery sold been sold to the Mariani family of New York- based Banfi Vintners. The winery's current executive team will continue to oversee op- erations and vineyards in Wallula and Yakima. Grahm still owns Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Bonny Doon Vineyards. Inter- national Wine Associates of Healdsburg, Calif., handled the transaction. Banfi Vintners, founded in 1919, currently is led by co-CEOs James Mariani and Cris- tina Mariani-May. F cosentIno to reoPen V intage Wine Estates, Santa Rosa, Ca- lif., has acquired limited assets of 70,000-case Cosentino Winery. Founded in 1980 by Mitch Cosentino, the winery opened its Yountville facility in 1990. Af- ter 30 years in the business, the winery shut its doors Nov. 11, 2010, but was set to reopen Jan. 21. Vintage Wine Es- tates owns Girard Winery, Sonoma Coast Vineyards, Windsor Sonoma Winery, Grove Street Winery, Windsor Vineyards and In- ternational Wine Accessories. ounded in 1992 by Randall Grahm, Washington's Pacific Rim Winery has GARDEN STATE WINEGROWERS ASSOCIATION